Peace Maker
by Shinoda Senshi
Summary: All Mark wants is a good night's sleep. His baby brother offers him something more. *Warning: Contains m/m slash*


**Peace Maker**

He didn't mean for it to happen. Didn't know how he let it happen. The fact of the matter was that he was too damaged to be with anyone else. So they had somehow ended up with each other. The living arrangement was easy enough to understand. They were family. Family stuck together, even when they had every reason to stay apart. They had hurt each other so much in the past that there was no more damage to be done to their lives. So they made a sort of peace. Coexisted. And, eventually, gave the other what they sorely needed.

Mark did not ask for things. Not for help. Not for guidance. Most certainly not for love. Truthfully, the only human on the planet that could understand him was his brother. Which, in hindsight, gave sense to their relationship. Kane knew without asking. Acted without an order having to be given. Had a hangover remedy ready the morning after one of Mark's benders. Tended silently to his wounds following yet another bar brawl. And, on occasion, cleaned his clock when necessary.

Because Mark could be a damn fool sometimes. Lashed out. Cut people down with careless words. More often than not, Kane was his target. When his dander got up, he'd cuss a blue streak, break things, and blame his foulness on his brother. It was easier than taking responsibility for his own actions.

Not to be outdone, Kane gave as good as he got. Didn't let his brother beat him down. Once Mark had run out of steam, run out of glasses to smash and walls to punch, Kane picked up the pieces. Which included gluing his big brother's sanity back together.

Nighttime was the worst for Mark. Especially those deep, dark hours. Three or four o'clock in the morning, when the rest of the world was sleeping soundly. Mark was wide awake. He called himself an insomniac, but it was not simply sleep that eluded him. Mark lacked peace of mind.

Every time he laid his head on his pillow and let himself drift away, he saw that face. Those evil black eyes that gleamed with devilish glee. A malicious sneer that made Mark's skin crawl. Then came the voice. The worst part. Soft as a lamb but with the unforgiving edge of a straight razor. It cut and sliced at Mark. Calling him all sorts of names. Loser. Worthless. Bastard. The only escape was to remain awake.

Only in moments of extreme exhaustion was he able to sleep without being accosted by that horrific vision.

Continual lack of sleep made Mark irritable. Extremely unpleasant. Even dangerous. He picked fights, not caring if he beat his opponent senseless or got his own ass kicked. He was a nightmare to live with. Mark knew that and expected Kane to walk out at any moment.

After six months under the same roof, Kane reached his breaking point. He called upon extreme measures to deal with his brother's self-destructive behavior.

By that time, Mark had gone a full week with only about twelve hours sleep. Had spent the better part of that evening nursing a black eye and the mother of all headaches. Only threat of a throttling at the hands of his baby brother finally sent Mark to bed.

He laid still in the dark. Mind drifting. He was so tired and didn't want the nightmare to come. Didn't have the energy to manufacture the anger used to mask his fear. All he wanted was a few hours of peace. Was that really too much to ask?

A part of him felt the bed tilt. Felt something slide and bump against his leg. The sensation was too far away for him to focus on. Mark continued to drift. Waiting for the phantom of a long dead man to catch up to him.

Suddenly, Mark was surrounded in heat. A good kind. Comforting. Not like the flames that had devoured his childhood home and forever altered his life. Mark let himself drift towards the heat. Still less than completely conscious. It was not merely warmth that drew him. A familiar sensation coupled with the heat. Spreading it across his body. Up and down his spine. A wonderful feeling washed over him. Engulfed him. He was grateful that, for once it was not the bone chilling terror brought on by of his ghastly tormentor.

Pleasure. The kind that made him aware of the tightening of his nipples and the raising of delicate bumps along his skin. His heart beat faster. He breathed deep and let out a quiet groan. When was the last time he had felt so good? When was the last time he wasn't scared or angry or both?

He wanted more. Had to have more. He craved it more than violence, which had always been his constant companion. Mark needed to find the source.

Cautiously, he opened his eyes. Not totally awake but more than before. He became more aware of his surroundings. The room was still dark, but he was not alone. He felt the weight of another person beside him. Along with the hand wrapped around his hard dick.

That sudden realization jerked him into full consciousness. He bolted away from the stranger, screaming every foul word he could think of. Even as he scrambled to get off the bed, strong hands clutched at him.

"Damn it, Mark! It's me!"

Mark stopped the punched that would have undoubtedly broken Kane's nose. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the not complete dark. His mind raced in search of an explanation. He decided to ask for one. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Because there was no mistaking whose hand had been stroking him. His heart pounded so fiercely he thought it might explode. He struggled to catch his breath as the adrenaline rush faded. Kane, his little brother, had been jerking him off!

"I was trying to help," Kane said.

"I oughta rip your head off!" He tried to forget how good it felt. Tried to forget the way he had moaned. Most of all, he tried to ignore the fact that he was still hard. "How could you do that to me?"

"Somebody had to!" Kane wrapped a hand around Mark's wrist and pulled him closer. He resisted at first, but was soon led back to Kane's side. "You've been banned from three bars this month, Mark. I'm tired of you coming home bloody every night because you thought some jackass mouthed off to you. You're either gonna end up dead or in prison, and I can't let that happen."

Kane didn't shout. He spoke calmly and softly. Mark almost wished his brother had hollered in his face. Raised voices were something he knew how to deal with. Calm and rational speaking, however, threw him for a loop. Messed up his entire game plan. He didn't want Kane to be sensible. He didn't want Kane's comforting weight beside him as he struggled with his demons.

"So, the alternative is this?" Mark tried to sound disgusted. He knew he should have been repulsed by the idea of any kind of sexual contact with his brother. If only it didn't feel so good. If only Kane wasn't the single person on the planet he could trust.

"_This_," said Kane, "is me giving you what you need. A safe outlet. A release for all that rage that you take out on other people. Let me do this for you, Mark. Please?"

No one did anything, especially for him, without a reason. Without something being in it for them, too. Mark had to know. "Why? Why do you want to do this?"

He could see Kane's smile, even in the dark. "I'd like to say it was to maintain the public peace. Mostly, it's because I have the misfortune of loving you."

Mark lay beside Kane. He didn't want to talk anymore. Especially about love. Love was something that happened to other people. Still, if Kane was offering, Mark wouldn't turn him down.

He got comfortable on the pillows. Stared at the ceiling as he tried to pretend that it wasn't Kane's hand reaching into his shorts. A moan escaped from him as he was again surrounded by his brother's thick fingers. Kane drew his hard cock out. Free of the fabric, he stroked him with ease.

"I could suck it for you." Warm lips brushed against Mark's ear and he suppressed a shiver. "Would you like me to do that?"

The prospect of his baby brother's mouth on his dick was too much for him to consider. "No," Mark whispered. "I don't think I'm ready for that." Wanted it immensely, but even the thought made him arch into his brother's loving hand. A single touch of Kane's tongue on the head of his prick would have him shooting off in no time.

"Can I kiss you, then?"

Somehow, a kiss was more intimate than even a blowjob. Even prostitutes gave those out if the price was right. To kiss Kane would mean acknowledging this as more than one brother helping out another. Went far beyond sibling duties. This was no small peck Kane asked for. At least, Mark intended to give him more than that.

Rather than actually saying yes, Mark turned his head towards Kane. Baby brother took the hint. Kane kissed him without missing a stroke. More than a mere pressing together of two pairs of lips. It was a world changing moment as Mark welcomed Kane's tongue into his mouth. They kissed with a passion that ran in their blood. A ferocity that was no longer turned towards fighting for survival. They had each other. They were strongest when by each other's side. Nothing , not even the hurts of the past, could destroy them.

"Will you fuck me, Mark?" Kane stroked faster as increasingly desperate moans filled the air. "Not tonight. Maybe not even next week. But someday, Mark? You'll fuck me and tell me you love me?"

Mark thought about his brother lying on his back, long legs wrapped around his hips. Or maybe with his head thrown back as he slowly rode up and down. Or maybe on his hands and knees as Mark took him from behind. His face a mask of pure pleasure every single time. Because he was with his big brother. The man that loved him more than anything or anyone else.

"Yes, Kane." He was going to come in his brother's hand. Mark wondered what it would feel like to come in his mouth and in his ass. There was time for that later. Time to learn everything there was to know about Kane. That he loved to have his nipples bitten. That having his hair pulled while he was fucked from behind made him come harder. That his baby brother begged so sweetly, even when he had a cock in his mouth. "I need you so much."

That acknowledgement, coupled with the pleasure building inside him, shoved Mark over the edge. He came, calling out to the brother that never let him go. Kane stroked him until he had wrung the last drops from him.

Free of the rage and the fear, Mark finally found peace. It settled around him, like Kane's arms around his shoulder. He could sleep, knowing Kane would stay beside him. Kane would chase away the demons, should they rear their ugly heads. Kane loved him as no other had ever before. Intensely, and with the promise to never, ever stop.

**END**


End file.
